Serial Tripper

At the office, we have our go-to lunch destinations – that is, restaurants that never (or almost never) fail to deliver a good meal. Thanks to our good office location at a commercial strip loaded with great restaurants with specialized offerings, we have about ten options on our list whenever lunch breaks come around. One such place we consider “no-fail” is the Kirin Chinese Dining joint right across our office building (Building 7 at Bonifacio High Street), which offers Cantonese and Hong Kong-style cuisine at not-so expensive prices.

Two of our favorite starters here are orders of Shrimp Rice Roll and their very appetizing Hot and Sour Soup (regular: Php 330; large: Php 780). The former is pretty straightforward; add more soy sauce to adjust its saltiness. The latter is a mix of vegetables and spices in a very flavorful bowl of soup. I love it so much that I’d never a start a Kirin meal without it, and I think that all it takes to hook someone on this stuff is to try a bowl just once. If you’re not into spicy food, I recommend you try out their Spinach and Quail Egg Soup (regular: Php 320; large: Php 780), which is equally as good (I think my bosses like this spinach fare more).

Kirin serves a variety of rice topping options, and among these, Red and Rendhl both prefer the Roasted Pork Rice Topping (Php 198). Alternatives include Soya Sauce Chicken (Php 238), Roasted Duck (Php 238), and HK Curry Beef (Php 168) – all are served with rice and sauce (varies on selection).

I’m a sucker for lemon chicken, and I love Kirin’s version of Deep Fried Chicken in Lemon Sauce (Php 260). It’s crunchiness on the outside is just about right, and it’s very tender inside. More importantly, their lemon sauce isn’t too sweet (unlike other Chinese restaurants) and isn’t overpowering. I’d usually order two cups of plain rice with this, but I think it should also go well with Yong Chow Fried Rice for a more flavorful meal.

You’d possibly want to try their Spicy Hot Chilli Chicken Szechuan Style (Php 280): it’s an interesting basket loaded with chicken and chili (both fresh and dried). I’m going to warn you, however, that if you don’t like spicy food, you shouldn’t attempt to eat this. On the other hand, if you love spicy, you should definitely check this one out. You should be able to tell between the fresh and dried chili by their color and thus avoid the fresh ones lest you wish to burn your tongue, but if you’re used to it, there shouldn’t be any problem just digging in.

My favorite part is wrapping up my meal with a glass of HK Style Milk Tea. It doesn’t matter what you ordered, may it be spicy or salty, this baby will wash the taste away and replace it with a soothing, milky taste. It also looks great, if presentation matters to you.

I’m a sucker for lemon chicken, and I love Kirin’s version of Deep Fried Chicken in Lemon Sauce.

Overall, Kirin ranks among the top Asian restaurant joints here at Bonifacio Global City; whenever we crave for Chinese food, this is where we go.

Kirin Chinese Dining
G/F Building 7, Bonifacio High Street
Bonifacio Global City
Taguig City, Philippines